from the Agriculture Canada Web Site: http://www.agr.ca/cb/news/2001/n10426be.html
I don't know what upsets me more: the fact that the US is restricting our potatoes to
50-pound bags or that they attempted to restrict the movement of Canadian potatoes
between the Canadian provinces. I thought that Canada was a sovereign country,
obviously, on certain matters, I was mistaken.
BACK GROUNDER * P.E.I. POTATOES
Canada and the U.S. have agreed on a set of conditions that allow the movement of
potatoes grown in Prince Edward Island to
the U. S. and within Canada. The following are the specific conditions outlined in the
agreement with respect to the year 2000
crop:
Four zones have been established with various conditions for the movement of
potatoes. Zone One is the field where the
disease was detected and a half-mile buffer area around the field. Zone Two
consists of all fields that have used the same
farming equipment as the infected fields. Zone Three consists of the area
surrounding and between Zones One and Two.
Zone Four is the remainder of P.E.I., which accounts for more than 80 per cent of
the province's land.
The U. S. will accept tablestock potatoes from Zone Four of PEI provided that the
potatoes are washed and treated
with sprout inhibitor. These potatoes can move in packages of up to 50 pounds,
and must be inspected and certified by
the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). All shipments of Zone Four PEI
potatoes must enter the U.S. through
the port of Houlton, Maine.
The U.S. is reducing the most stringent requirements regarding movement of P.E.I.
potatoes in Canada. Tablestock
potatoes from Zones Three and Four may move in packages up to 50 pounds and meet
Canada's No. 1 standard of
cleanliness. These potatoes will no longer have to be washed and sprout
inhibited. Bulk shipments of potatoes for
processing will no longer have to be washed but are subject to CFIA surveillance.
Seed potatoes may move within Canada from Zones Three and Four subject to CFIA
inspection and certification
activities.
This agreement for the 2000 crop year will allow Canada and the U.S. to begin
discussions of measures to be implemented for
the 2001 crop year of P.E.I. potatoes. In that regard, the U.S. is committed to
sending a team of risk assessment and
management specialists, plant pathologists, and regulatory officials to Canada by June
15, 2001 to review surveillance activities,
soil surveys, and regulatory inspections.
